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Every pupil in West Sussex is being invited to ‘Name a Gritter’ this year – and win their school a special prize.

A competition has been organised by West Sussex County Council’s contractor Balfour Beatty Living Places, which deploys gritters to salt the roads throughout winter.

Balfour Beatty wants to rename three of its yellow gritters, and has asked every West Sussex school to have a go.

The three pupils who come up with the best names will each receive a High Street voucher. Their school will also win a grit bin, grit salt to fill it and snow shovels to spread in cold weather.

Last year, the winning names were Shelley Primary School in Horsham’s ‘Mr Gritty’, Tangmere Primary School’s ‘The Crystal-a-tor’, and Southway Junior School in Burgess Hill’s ‘Cosmic Cruncher’.

If you think you can do better, ask your school to e-mail louise.bishop@westsussex.gov.uk for a competition entry form.

The deadline for entries is Monday, December 3.

A gritter will arrive at the winning schools on the week commencing Monday, December 10, to show off its new name to everyone.

Visitors will also give a talk to the school on how important it is to ‘Be Safe, Be Seen’ this winter.

County Council Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, Pieter Montyn, said: “We want to see pupils get creative and come up with a great name for these gritters, and learn how to keep safe during the cold weather.”